The Camphill Movement is an initiative for social change based on the principles of anthroposophy. Camphill communities are residential communities and schools that provide support for the education, employment, and daily lives of adults and children with developmental disabilities ("learning disabilities" in the UK), mental health problems or other special needs.[1]

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The movement was founded in 1939 at Kirkton House near Aberdeen by a group that included AustrianpaediatricianKarl König.[3][4] It was König's view that every human being possessed a healthy inner personality that was independent of their physical characteristics, including characteristics marking developmental or mental disability, and the role of the school was to recognize, nurture and educate this essential self.[5] The communities' philosophy, anthroposophy, states that "a perfectly formed spirit and destiny belong to each human being."[6] The underlying principles of König's Camphill school were derived from concepts of education and social life outlined decades earlier by anthroposophistRudolf Steiner (1861–1925).[5] Today there are over 100 communities worldwide, in more than 20 countries, mainly in Europe, but also in North America and Southern Africa.[6][7][8]

The Camphill School Aberdeen[10] was noted in the HMI/Care Commission report for 2007 as meeting "very good" to "excellent" standards,[11] The school also holds Autism Accreditation from the National Autistic Society.[12]

The Botton village received the Deputy Prime Minister's Award for Sustainable Communities in 2005; the award cited the community's dedication to the ethos of sustainability and mutual respect, as well as their concrete achievements in these areas.[13]